Bok Tower Postcard

Bok Tower Postcard

Bok Tower Postcard

Bok Tower Gardens (Lake Wales, Fla.)

Bok, Edward William, 1863-1930

Postcards--Florida

Botanical gardens--Florida--Orlando

Bird sanctuaries

Carillons--United States

Postcard sent in 1938 showing the Magnificent Singing Tower at the Bok Tower Gardens, located at 1151 Tower Boulevard in Lake Wales, Florida. Edward Bok retired to the town of Lake Wales, located south of Orlando. Bok set out a plan to establish a natural garden and bird sanctuary where people to visit to quietly enjoy nature. He engaged Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr. to design the grounds and asked architect Milton B. Medary to design and build a carillon tower. Lee Lawrie, a noted sculptor from New York, designed the elaborate marble sculpture that adorns the tower. Work was completed in 1928, and on February 1, 1929, President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the Sanctuary. Edward Bok died less than a year later in 1930 and was buried at the foot of the tower. The tower and the carillon housed inside is Bok Tower Gardens' most distinctive feature.The carillon consists of sixty bells, ranging in size from sixteen pounds to just under twelve tons. The bells are played like an organ with the keys connected to the clappers of each bell. Bok Tower has had only three regular carillonneurs in its more than seventy years. The Sanctuary's first carillonneur was Anton Brees, serving as the only carillonneur from 1928 until 1967. Milford Myhre has been the resident carillonneur since 1968. William De Turk has been the assistant carillonneur since 1993. De Turk is also the librarian of the Anton Brees Carillon Library, which is reportedly the largest and most comprehensive carillon library in the world.

Barnhill, E. G.

C. T. Curt Teich & Company, Inc.

Original 3.5 x 5.5 inch color postcard by E. G. Barnhill and C. T. Curt Teich & Company, Inc., 1938: Florida Post Card Company, Jacksonville, Florida: Private Collection of Thomas Cook.

Florida Post Card Company

1938

1938

1938

Cook, Thomas

Digital reproduction of original 3.5 x 5.5 inch color postcard by E. G. Barnhill and C. T. Curt Teich & Company, Inc., 1938: Florida Post Card Company, Jacksonville, Florida

Private Collection of Thomas Cook.

Postcard Collection, Thomas Cook Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

application/pdf

803 KB

3.5 x 5.5 inch color postcard

eng

Still Image

Lake Wales, Florida

27.935373, -81.57751

1938-01-01/1938-12-31

Donation

History Teacher

Geography Teacher

Originally created by E. G. Barnhill and Curt Teich & Company, Inc. and published by the Florida Post Card Company.

Copyright to this resource is held by the E. G. Barnhill and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.

Cook, Thomas

Private Collection of Thomas Cook

"Our History." Bok Tower Gardens. http://boktowergardens.org/tower-gardens/our-history/.

"Bok Tower Gardens." Floridata. http://www.floridata.com/tracks/GardenGallery/bok/bok1.cfm.

Bok Tower Gardens (Lake Wales, Fla.). Bok Tower Gardens. Lake Wales, Fla: Bok Tower Gardens Foundation, 1981.

Bok Tower Gardens (Lake Wales, Fla.). The Bok Tower Gardens Newsletter. Lake Wales, FL: The Gardens, 1980.

Smith, Margaret. The Edward Bok Legacy: A History of Bok Tower Gardens: The First Fifty Years. Lake Wales, Fla: Bok Tower Gardens Foundation, 2002.

"Our History"

"Bok Tower Gardens"

13 THE MAGINFICENT SINGING TOWER, LAKE WALES, FLA.
COPYRIGHT BY E. G. BARNHILL

Lun[?] March 6

Dear Harry

We arrived at Lake Wales last eve got a comfortable room and came [?] this beautiful this afternoon to hear the Bells at 8 o'clock which will be soon. We will stay here tonight and have an early start for Vero Beach we are having a wonderful time seeing lots of thing.

Lovingly Nathan[?]

Mr. J. Harry Clanahan
302- 1st Nat'l[?] Bank Bld.
East St. Louis, Illinois

1 color postcard

3.5 x 5.5 inch